WASHINGTON, Feb 11 The U.S. House of
Representatives narrowly approved a one-year extension of
federal borrowing authority on Tuesday after Republicans caved
into President Barack Obama's demands to allow a debt limit
increase without any conditions.

The 221-201 vote, carried mainly by Democrats, marked a
dramatic shift from the confrontational fiscal tactics House
Republicans have used over the past three years, culminating in
last October's 16-day government shutdown.

It came after House Republicans repudiated House Speaker
John Boehner's latest plan to link an increase in the $17.2
trillion borrowing cap to a repeal of planned cuts to military
pensions.

Although Boehner called his decision to advance a "clean"
debt limit a "disappointing moment," it sets aside a difficult
and divisive issue until after the 2014 congressional elections
in November, allowing Republicans to focus their campaign
efforts on the rocky launch of Obama's health care reform law.

Democrats provided most of the "yes" votes on the debt limit
increase, which was hastily attached to a measure renaming an
air traffic control center in Nashua, New Hampshire. There were
193 Democrats who voted yes, versus just 28 Republicans, who
wanted to pin blame on Obama's refusal to negotiate.

"He will not engage in our long-term spending problem,"
Boehner told reporters earlier on Tuesday. "So let his party
give him the debt ceiling increase that he wants."

The Democratic-controlled Senate was likely to begin
consideration of the measure on Wednesday. Senate passage this
week would buy financial markets considerable breathing room
ahead of Feb. 27, when the U.S. Treasury expects to exhaust
existing borrowing capacity, putting federal payments at risk.

Without an increase in the statutory debt limit, the U.S.
government would soon default on some of its obligations and
have to shut down some programs, a historic move that would
likely cause market turmoil.

U.S. stocks reacted mildly to news of the Republican
decision to drop any conditions on the debt limit. Wall Street
stocks rose for a fourth session as traders focused most of
their attention on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's first
congressional testimony.

"It was a minor worry that an agreement wouldn't come. It's
not a big plus (for the market) but I'm glad this happened,"
said John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds
Management in New York.

As stocks rose, bond prices retreated.

MODEST DEMANDS

Republicans used the debt limit with great effectiveness in
2011 to gain budget concessions, when a bitter stand-off led to
a deal calling for $2.1 trillion in cuts to U.S. discretionary
spending over a decade. The fight also cost the United States
its top-tier credit rating from Standard & Poor's.

But the wrenching two-week government shutdown and debt
limit battle last October sapped the party's enthusiasm for
another major showdown.

Instead of seeking big cuts to the Social Security and
Medicare benefit programs that Republicans blame for pushing up
U.S. debt, Boehner floated more modest proposed concessions,
such as ordering approval of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil
pipe-line and changes to Obamacare insurance provisions.

But they too failed to gain enough Republican support to
overcome objections from Democrats.

The final plan to repeal cost-of-living cuts for
non-disabled military retirees was doomed from the start,
lawmakers said, as many conservatives objected to linking
veterans to the debt ceiling, to cost offsets and other issues.
Many simply wanted the big deficit reduction achieved in the
past.

"If there's something attached to the debt ceiling, it
should be addressing the underlying problem, which is, we're
spending too much money," said Representative Jim Jordan, a
conservative Republican from Ohio.

The episode showed that Boehner still has difficulty
exerting control over his fractious caucus, in which
conservatives backed by the Tea Party movement hold considerable
sway.

"Republicans can't unite behind one plan. And so as long as
we do that, we'll not be influencing the outcomes of issues like
this," said Republican Representative Kevin Brady of Texas.

Conservative groups that egged on Republicans in the October
shutdown fight over Obamacare funding urged members to vote
against the debt limit increase.

"Something is very wrong with House leadership, or with the
Republican Party. This is not a bill that advocates of limited
government should schedule or support," The Club for Growth said
in a statement.

Some Republicans wanted the debt limit issue behind them so
they can focus on more productive issues such as next year's
annual spending bills and bashing Obama's health care law, which
they have repeatedly tried to repeal.

"If you spend the money, you've got to pay the bill," said
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, who voted
for the increase.

Republican House leaders led off a news conference on
Tuesday with five lawmakers complaining about the latest
Obamacare mandate delay for medium-sized companies.

In a somewhat cryptic sign that Boehner himself may be
relieved to put the debt limit behind him, he walked out of the
news conference singing the opening words to "Zip-A-Dee
Doo-Dah," the marquee song from the 1946 Disney film "Song of
the South."

Next In Bonds News

FRANKFURT/LONDON, Dec 9 The European Central
Bank hopes its decision to confront struggling Italian bank
Monte dei Paschi at last will draw a line under a multi-year
crisis that has risked tarnishing its reputation as a credible
supervisor.

Dec 9 A former Cantor Fitzgerald & Co trader has
been indicted on charges that he defrauded investors by lying
about the price of mortgage bond transactions he handled for
them after the financial crisis in order to illegally profit.

TORONTO, Dec 9 Cash-strapped Centerra Gold Inc
said on Friday that it will suspend its third-quarter
and future dividends, citing financial restrictions by
Kyrgyzstan on its key subsidiary, Kumtor Gold Co.

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